The Third Key
by Eclipse of the Heart
Summary: Sora's Nobody...is that what I am? A fanfiction based on a theory about the BHK.
1. Creation

I know that some people have been waiting for my next chapter of _Puppets of the Darkness_, but since Kingdom Hearts 2 is coming out pretty soon in America I have to do this fic first. And it's all about BHK! Such a mysterious character...I look forward to finding out about him when KH2 is at last released in England. This fanfic is about my best theory of who and what the BHK really is. And yes, this will be a fairly short fic so I can get back to my other fic. I apologise to the patient souls who have been waiting for an update! Gomen nasai!

**Disclainer: **If I owned Kingdom Hearts then I would probably be really really rich. And alas, I am not. And I don't own KH either (sadly...)

**_Creation_**

_**"...NOBODY. Who is nobody you ask? They are the nonexistant."--**Deep Dive._

_Drowning...drowning in darkness._

There was a sharp pain that ripped through my entire body. And then I was falling...falling...On and on and on without end. Into the abyss. Above me there was a flash of red. Was that my imagination? Maybe, maybe not. It was impossible to define the line between reality and imagination, truth and lie. Will my entire existance be lived out here? Maybe, maybe not.

* * *

I had many flashes of memories while falling. But the person that was 'me' in those memories didn't feel quite like _me. _A person that was, and yet was not me. Why do I remember things that I have never done? 

In the darkness that was both there and not, while I drowned in memories that were not mineI only wished for one thing. The truth.

* * *

When the lies and illusion was up to the point where I couldn't bear it anymore it ended. And I landed on a cold marble floor. _Typical,_ some part of me had said. Was it typical? Maybe, maybe not. 

Nearby there were people whispering. Who were they? Their faces were obscured by shadows thrown onto their faces by black hoods. They must have realised that I was there because they stopped talking briefly before starting again. This time I could hear some things they were saying.

"He has awoken at last...The time to act has never been better...control him...The Third Key."

And once again they turned to face me, but now I could make out the features of one as he removed his hood. The blue streak and red hair made him almost comical, like a clown. But the eyes told a different story. A story much more...sinister. Why had he removed his hood? Then he bowed, his hair bristling slightly with the movement. Bowing...at what? The dark, empty doorway? No...The person that had suddenly appeared.

The newcomer was stranger still. He might have not been wearing a hood, but his entire face was wrapped in bandages. Bandages the colour of blood. And his cloak flowed out behind him like a dark cloud. No emotion escaped from his eyes. He didn't frighten me as much as the hooded man, but made me curious more than anything. Silently I christened him the Enigmatic Man.

The Enigmatic Man walked up to me and knelt so that we were at the same eye level. Then he did something totally unexpected. He smiled. "You look just like him," he said. Like who? No answers...just an infinite number of questions in their place.

The world went dark again and for a few seconds I thought that the hooded people and the Enigmatic Man had all been another fantasy conjured up by my fevered brain.Slowly I realised that it was just a hand over my eyes. "I promise this won't hurt," said the Enigmatic Man.

The last words I heard were ,"Will we be able to control Sora's Nobody?" And then once again I was plunged into darkness.

**_Creation: End._**

Don't worry, this isn't a one-shot, since if it was it would be really long and I would probably not finish it until after KH2 came out...and for some reason I'm more comportable with a non-one-shot fanfic. Trust me to think like that...When I can I will update, but who knows when I will have time? I can only hope and hope and hope that this will be finished by the time KH2 _does_ come out.

Reviews are wonderful and apprieciated. Even if I din't get any, I will continue this. My BHK theory must go on! Still...reviews help me write that little bit faster (I wonder why...?) So until I update again, I bid my readers (god, I hope someone reads this) a farewell...

Until next time!


	2. Dream

Okay...I had a nice break because I had next to no sleep for forty-eight hours straight...But now, at least, I am in good enough condition to continue my _The Third Key_ fanfiction. I am truly sorry for the wait and I'm also sorry to the readers of _Puppets of the Darkness._ Given a little more free time I can update that too, but at the moment it's kind of scary just how little free time I have (it really is). I barely have time to do my homework, let alone come on my precious one, Compie (the computer). But enough about me and about that...Time for fanfiction!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Or the BHK (whatever his real name is)...or...Riku...-sniff-...But I do own this little bit of dirty chewed chewing gum tacked to the sole of a shoe...BUT SOMEHOW IT'S NOT THE SAME!

Oh yes, before I forget to mention it, I shall also be replying to reviews at the end of this chapter. Why I told you this I just don't know...Ah well. On with the fic!

**_Dream_**

_**"...A dream whithin a dream..."--**Death poem of a Japanese warlord._

_The rain pelted down, forming dirty puddles on an already dirty sidewalk. The streets were empty, the people with any common sense having fled the storm. _

_One person walked down the sidewalk, splashing puddles only enough to form ripples and small splashes through them. The heavy rain rolled down the black hood, down the black cloak and finally finding its place among its brethren. A particularly large puddle sent dirty water running down the sleek black boots, yet leaving no trace of ever having been there. _

_Lightning struck, loud and powerful, sending ripples through the water. The stranger ignored it and continued walking._

_The shadows were thicker now, almost solid. They seemed to have been following him for some time but they were, after all, only shadows. The stranger seemed to have noticed this too, since he had paused._

_He must have been expecting what happened next. The shadows became denser and from them, it seemed, emerged a small black creature--the shadow itself. It was shorter than the stranger, but built powerfully. Things which could be defined as antennae jutted out at the back of the creature's head. Fingers lengthened into claws. But the eyes were the most captivating thing, glowing brightly in the gloom. _

_Hundreds of these creatures emerged from the shadows. There was a brief second when nothing moved. And then they struck as one. But the stranger was ready. He parried a strike with a strange blade that had seemingly come from nowhere. Strange because at first glance it didn't seem to be a blade of any kind. It looked more like a key. _

_He parried all of their strikes with not one, but two of the 'keyblades'. Parry, strike. Parry, strike. Simple moves made complex striking down more and more of the creatures. It looked almost like a dance, beautiful yet deadly. However, if he made one small mistake then the punishment was death. _

_For every creature hacked down, another five seemed to take its place. It looked like the stranger would be overwhelmed, but he didn't seem to be showing any panic at all. Just the same moves. Parry, strike. Parry, strike. _

_Something or someone watched this from the rooftop of one particularly large building, covered in monitors. He wore the same attire as the one fighting below, but his hood was down. The rain ran smoothly down the spiky silvery blue hair, dripping off the ends. However, where the stranger's features were hidden by shadow, his were hidden by a black strip of cloth covering his eyes. A blindfold. _

_His hands were raised to the clouds above. He must have been doing something, since suddenly the clouds split in a perfect circle. Comets were revealed, streaking across the sky. Thestranger, still fighting below, was suddenly surrounded by a heart with an arrow on the end pointing down that repelled the creatures. An arrow of blue fire that burned strong despitethe rain still pelting down. _

_The stranger must have been waiting for this, since he did not try__to strike the heart symbol. Instead, he faced the flames, keyblades still clutched in his hands._

_"Where's Sora?"_

_The world dissolved into shadow before a reply could be heard._

_

* * *

_

I woke up, for a few brief seconds blissfully unaware about what was going on. And then everything came back to me, giving me an almost instant headache. The dream...it seemed so vivid and real, but how could it have been? It was, after all, only a dream. There were only a few pieces to the puzzle, and I was completely blind to the bigger picture. Well, almost. There was still one clue that seemed to keep appearing whatever happened. Sora. Who was he? I tried to remember, hoping, however vainly that I would suddenly remember him and everything would make sense. However, this only gave me more of a headache.

Where was I? The buildings were an almost yellow tan colour, varying little from eachother. The shape was rather simmilar too, but there was at least some variation here. The one thing that struck me was the the tower. It was enormous, stretching far above everything else. From my angle on the ground it looked almost as if it was touching the sky. There were clocks below the roof that I couldn't read and a clock above that. However, the thing that struck me most was the two bells emerging from either side, each suspended by a large curled piece of something with another smaller bell on the end.

"Are you lost?" a young girl asked, making me jump slightly. Snapping out of my trance, I looked at her. She looked about the same age as me with dark brown hair and large blue eyes. She wore a orange dress with some white flowers on one shoulder. She was smiling slightly.

"Are you lost?" she repeated patiently. "I haven't seen you around here before. What's your name?" She was so curious when she spoke, every word she spoke showing this.

Then I realised. I didn't have a name, or at least had forgotten. The girl was aware that I still hadn't said anything, but she seemed to be getting slightly impatient.

"You don't have a name?" she asked. I nodded slowly. It might have not been completely true, but it was still the truest thing I could have said or done. She seemed to be thinking, a slight frown etched onto her delicate features. "I know!" she said suddenly, breaking out into a warm smile. "Your name can be Aori." Then she nodded, as if satisfied with her decision.

Then she frowned again. "By the way, what are you wearing? It's too hot to be wearing things like that!" I looked down at what I was wearing. A long black cloak with a hood and a pair of black boots. Just like the stranger from my dream.

_But what does it all mean?_

_**Dream: End.**_

Right, so as promised I shall now reply to the reviews. Oh yes. And I shall also apologise to those who didn't want to read a version of _Another Side, Another Story. _But it had to be done to advance the plot. But I must admit that it could have been worse. Anyway! On with the review replies!

**Blu Rose: **Don't we all want to know more about our dear little enigma, the BHK? I know I do...good to know I'm not the only one! That was definately one of the reasons that I started this fanfic. As for updating soon? When I've had some more sleep the updates shall come again!

**whatever: **Thankies! It's good to know that people like the story. If they didn't, then there wouldn't be much point in writing this, save for satisfying my own desire to see this through...A paranoia theory about the BHK brought to life! At least, that's how I view it...

**Shiozora: **No offense taken :) Don't worry, our dear BHK will become his own character soon enough. But to advance the plot, which seems to just be getting more complicated every time I think about it, I had to do it like this. Hope you like the latest chapter...

**icewolf9: **Dark and twisted are some of the best fanfics! Good to know you liked it, though...I do hope I finish this before the release of KH2 though.

Thank you, oh kind and wonderful reviewers! It is always good to know someone out there is reading this, apart from obsessed little meh. Once again, I am sorry that this took so long to make, but I was a little preoccupied. I'll try not to let it happen next time though. Don't forget to review this time! If you don't then I'll...hm...do something drastic. Yeah, that's what I'll do...eh heh, eh heh...heh...

Oh yes, before I forget, I'll explain the BHK's name. 'Sora' means 'sky', and the BHK is a part of Sora (in a way...). I couldn't use Cloud since that's already taken (damn...). Aori means wind (a gust of wind to be precise). Maybe not the most fitting name, but hell, it was all I could come up with. What can you do?

Remember to review. Until next time!


	3. Meeting

Right, so I'm trying to uphold my promise of as many updates as I can possibly manage, given the fact that I now have almost twice the ammount of homework that I had last year. I'm really sorry if I leave readers in suspense for a week, but I swear that that's the longest I'm going to try to go without an update. Anyway...you don't want to listen to me crapping on do you? Of course not! You want the juicy story about the beloved BHK, here known as Aori (but to me, always Aori-chan...please don't ask why...-.-;;;)! So without further ado...

**Disclaimer: **Think for a moment...if I owned Kingdom Hearts why would I be writing this fanfiction? I'd be in a Japanese skyscraper getting flooded with fanmail! Yet alas, it is not so...T-T

So...on with the fic!

**_Meeting_**

_**"In life there are meetings which seem like a fate**."--_ _Lucile, Lord Lytton._

"Hello-o!" she exclaimed, waving a hand in front of my face. "Twilight Town to Aori, anyone there? Hello? Am I just talking to myself?" I looked at her blankly, not quite able to process the information laid out in front of me. Maybe I would see the bigger picture...just not yet. But for now...

"Where are we?" I asked her.

"Finally! We're in Twilight Town. How can you _not _know? I mean, how else could you have got here if you didn't know what it was called?"

"Easily, apparently."

She sighed exasperated. "So...how _did_ you get here anyway?" I shrugged. I had absolutely no idea. I didn't even know how much time had passed since...since I had first truly been awake. Since I could _really_ remember something. Maybe if I went along with the way this was going, the current would carry me somewhere. Somewhere with _answers._

"Have I lost you again?" the girl asked, bending down so we were on the same eye level. "Well, I shouldn't leave someone I've just met on the ground! You should come with me!"

I found myself looking into her eyes for the first time, finding myself almost drowning in a sea of blue-green. "Where?"

Her smile got wider. She must have been happy about the aspect of showing someone else where she lived.

"To our secret base, of course! Not even _they_ come to disturb us." Her face became grave. "At least not yet. But," she continued, brightening again ,"it's so cool! You can see _all_ of Twilight Town from there. Come on!" She grabbed my had and began to lead me, dashing to some unseed finish line at the end of the race. Who _was_ she? And what was wrong with this town? There wasn't anyone on the streets. It seemed somehow empty without the crowds dashing off to various destinations day and night. And who were _'they'_?

_I'll ask her the questions when she's calmed down a bit._

"Here we are!" she said, stopping at the foot of the tower I had seen only a short time ago.

"You live here?" I couldn't help asking. It seemed improbable that someone as young as her could live here...although her parents could own it. _Somehow that thought struck me as bitter. Parents?_

"As long as we can," she said cheerfully. "No one here really cares what we do. No one even goes outside anymore. It's 'dangerous'."

"Dangerous?" I hadn't really seen anything to be afraid of apart from Twilight Town itself. But she wasn't listening anymore. Instead she was knocking on the door that towered over her like some sort of warped giant.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when someone answered the knocking with a gruff, but still young voice. "The shadow streaks across nothingness."

"And the light shines through the curtains."

"Come on in." With almost agonising slowness the door creaked inwards and we entered.

The door led almost directly on to stairs, curling too high to see the end. A small flash of green darted out of view in the corner of my eye, but other than that we were completely alone.

"The stairs won't climb themselves, you know!" the girl shouted, waving from about five steps up.

Sighing inwardly, I began to climb the stairs.

* * *

_Note to self: cloaks are not the best thing to wear when climbing up stairs._

We had been climbing for what had felt like ages. I was breathing rather heavily by this time but that girl was breathing absolutely normally, as if we hadn't been climbing for ages and ages and ages and ages...

"Here we are!" she said, stopping so suddenly that I crashed into her. Sure enough, to the left of the stairs there was a small door. She pushed it open slowly, producing a small creaking sound. Stepping aside, she stretched her arm out, gesturing at the shabbily decorated room. "It's not much, but it's all we've got!"

She walked inside, and I followed tentativly after her. The room was actually quite large, I realised. The ceiling rested far above us, and crates containing various things were scattered everywhere. Despite that it had a strange feeling that I only vaguely remembered from another's memories. A feeling of home.

"Oh yeah! I have to introduce you to the others!" Sure enough, sitting on two upturned crates were two boys, once again around the same age as me. One of them was dressed in dark green army-type clothing, without any sleeves. His sandy blond hair was spiked, a little like mine. He was talking animatedly to the other, who was wearing a redshirt without sleeves on top of a white shirt.Hissmoothshoulder-length black hair swished slightly. As she spoke, they almost immediately stopped talking to look at her. But their gazes were quickly redirected at me and my strange attire. And who could blame them? If I was in their shoes I would probably be doing the same thing.

"Aori, this is Eirin," the boy in green ,"and Beni," the one in red. "Ah! I haven't introduced myself yet either! How rude of me. I'm Rinkei. Everyone, this is Aori. I found him."

It was as if someone had turned off a light. Their moods darkened. The boy in green began to shout. "You know how dangerous that is, Rinkei! Who knows what he's up to! It could be one of _them_ in disguise! You could have endangered us all!" He took a deep breath, calming himself, but not by much, since I could still see his frame trembling with anger.

"Wouldn't he have already attacked her if he was one of them?" The other boy spoke in a voice that sounded like it was trying to calm his friend.

Eirin said nothing, but seemed to have stopped trembling. Suddenly he stood up and walked straight over to me, looking directly into my eyes, almost like he was trying to see inside of my soul. The action took me by surprise and I stumbled backwards. After what seemed like a small eternity he leaned away. I realised that I had been holding my breath, and breathed at last.

"We'll trust you," Eirin said. "But you'd better be careful. If you give us one reason not to trust you, then you're out of here. Like that!" he said, clicking his fingers in my face. And he stalked away, back to the crate.

"Eirin..." Rinkei called after him, almost like she was trying to make him calm down. It wasn't working. Upset, she walked slowly off to a crate of her own.

And silence reigned.

* * *

After a while conversation resumed, but no one tried to talk to me. There didn't seem to be any available crates either, so I just sat on the ground, watching them and looking around. I had taken to looking at the wall opposite, which was covered with gears of all shapes and sizes. Each gear pushed eachother to make the clock itself on the outside work. As they would until this place met its demise or they rusted and fell. And something told me that would be a small eternity in itself. 

"Hey!" Rinkei said. I thought she was talking to one of the others, but when I blinked again, there she was, leaning down at me just like before. In her hands was clutched a crate. "Put these on. I told you you didn't have to go around in that bathrobe!" She smiled at her own joke. She shoved the crate upon me. "There's ascreen there." She stood up and pointed to an old wooden screen set in the corner.

"Thank you," was the only reply I could think of. However, her back was already facing me and she was too far away to hear my faint response.

* * *

I emerged from behind the screen. A mirror had been placed there. Despite the small spiderweb of cracks that adorned one corner, it was still usable. 

I couldn't help gasping at my appearance. Someone that was, and yet was not me stared back. I didn't recognise the face. _**I had never seen it before.** _The blue eyes whithin the mirror stared back at me, mirroring my surprise. The blond hair spiked upwards, simmilar yet different to what I remembered. The small details were also off. This face was hardened slightly, not as free or as happy as what I remembered.

I sighed inwardly. I would just have to get used to things being different than how I remembered them.

Rinkei appeared from behind the mirror, leaning out and grinning. "You just have to love it! Put these on too!" She thrust a black and white checkered sweatband into my hand, along with two rings that might well have been sweatbands themselves. One black, one white. I put them on slowly, not wanting to disappoint Rinkei.

I had to admit that I liked what I wore now _much_ more than the cloak. I woretrousers that werebaggy and grey at the bottom, but black near the top.A white jacket with half-sleeves and some black stitching was worn over a black shirt with a zip down the front. The collar curled outwards slightly, black and a little red as well. The zipper was rather like one of those _shuriken..._throwing stars that ninjas tend to use.

_Ninja? Now where do I remember that from? _But before I could remember, Rinkei shouted my name. "Aori! You're zoning out again! I know how we can solve that. We can go outside and walk around a bit. This place is so..._dark. _It drives me _insane!"_

"You know you shouldn't go outside! Who knows what will happen!" exclaimed Eirin.

"I'll be _fine_!"

"No you won't! I'll come with you to make sure."

"Aw...alright then." She pretended to be upset, but the fact that she was smiling broadly didn't help conceal her joy.

"I might as well come too," Beni said, standing up at last.

"Come on, then!"

For the millionth time today, I sighed inwardly and resigned myself to running down a long, long, long flight of stairs.

**_Meeting: End_**

I can now apologise for the kind of rubbish chappie.Sadly it's also necessary! So, again, I apoligise. I'm sorry! Anyway, without further procrastination, here are the review replies!

**Crisis Haylo: **Good to know you like it :) And I definately agree. Somehow the BHK's mysteriousness makes him rather attractive...I MUST KNOW MORE! And I'll try to have Axel appear again, but sadly no guarantee. Then again, I haven't thought of every little thing that's going to happen, so there's still time to add him in again. Come to think of it, it would be pretty cool having him coming back at some point! Now the question is, how...?

**IceKitty: **Wonderful to know that you liked it too :D It's so good to know that somewhere I have some fans (if you would call yourselves that...). And it's sweet that you think that more people should review :) All I can do is hope. But I'm definately happy that I _have_ reviews in the first place. Always a good thing...

**Stuck in the Shadows:** Sorry that I didn't reply to your first review! I'll try to put more detail whithin the fanfic, but sometimes vague is the way to go! It means that I can draw things out slowly (but not too slowly, I hope...). And you're right...that is scary O-O But I am pretty sure that it's a coincidence...

Right, I think that's everything...if you want to know what the names in this chappie mean, just say so in your review and if people request it, I'll put it up with the next chapter. But you must review, or I won't be able to tell what you want!

Until next time!


	4. Key

One day I shall have something called free time...and sleep. Ah yes, I remember those...maybe one day I'll try sleep again? Anyway...who knows when this will be posted? When I have time I shall continue writing. And, alas, the school schedule is getting even more cramped! And I have once again got addicted to **_yet another_** ps2 game. Shame on meh! At the moment it's the first of the .Hack games. I recommend it to everyone and anyone with a ps2. It rocks! Anyway, that cuts my already sparse free time in half. But sooner or later I shall be done and I can focus once again on updates (and homework)! But until that I apologise to those waiting patiently. Gomen nasai once again...And yes, the meaning of the names shall be revealed at the end of the fic.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Kingdom Hearts, would I be writing this fanfic? I don't think so. I'D BE MAKING SURE THEY FINISH THE SEQUEL GAME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE FOR THE SAKE OF PATIENT FANS (such as mehself)!

All I can say now is that I have been waiting for the right time to release this chappie! You'll understand by the time I've finished this chapter (hopefully)...Anywayz...on with meh fic!

**_Key_**

_**"...And lives to clutch the golden keys, to mould a mighty state's decrees, and shape the whisper of the throne--" **Statesmanship by Lord Alfred Tennyson._

Outside. I hadn't realised it at the time, but the heavy ammount of dust floating around the room in Twilight Tower (as I had later found out it was called) made the entire atmosphere of the place rather stifling. That and the fact that Eirin seemed to hate everything about me/ The cool air felt wonderful after all that. I could see why Rinkei always wanted to get out so much. _I'd_ go insane being in there for too long. Although, looking at the way things were already, I could well be insane.

"Can you feel that breeze, Aori?" Rinkei shouted to me. It seemed that she rather liked snapping me out of my various stupours that I almost constantly sunk knee deep in. "That's why I called you Aori. The gusts of wind are the greatest thing in this world. Apart from friends of course."

I finally voiced the question that had been bothering me for a while. "Why is no one outside? I don't see any danger here."

Rinkei smiled sadly. "It's always dangerous out here. The ones that think it's not don't last to see the light of tomorrow." Was she speaking from experience? But then she brightened again, and ran at Eirin, latching onto his arm and steering him to the left. "There's a lovely square where everyone used to play. Let's go there, Eirin!"

Eirin sighed in a resigned fashion. "Alright, alright!" Rinkei began to run, dragging Eirin in tow. Beni ran close behind.

Together we ran towards the square.

* * *

It was like walking back in time and into a dream long-forgotten, or buried by other events more important at the time. The others had already run on into the square and were playing a game of tag, but I just stood rather dumbstruck at what I saw. 

The square was exactly the same as the one in my dream.

I could understand something that I had seen before (albeit barely), but something that I hadn't seen? Not possible. _What was going on? **What was going on?**_

Rinkei slammed into me with enough force to knock over an elephant. "Aori, you're it!" And with that she ran off again, giggling.

_She must be trying to distract me,_ I realised. And I _really_ needed to be distracted.

"Here I come!" I shouted, running after her.

* * *

The sun had gone low in the sky, and I had to stop, every inch of me in agony. My god, they were _fast_. Must have something to do with running up and down those accursed stairs to go outside. 

"Had enough yet?" Rinkei shouted at me teasingly. She and Beni were the only ones that had attempted to make pleasant conversation with me. Eirin was determined not to be caught. Nor had he been, when I thought about it.

"I...give...up!" I shouted at them. Slowly they came over, making sure it wasn't some kind of trick.

Eirin frowned slightly (more than usual when it came to me)."We stayed out too long. We have to get back _now."_ Rinkei and Beni nodded in agreement. And I was still the only one who didn't understand. All in good time I suppose. But _when?_

"Oh yeah! First," Rinkei said, seizing my wrist. "I have to talk to you." She dragged me off behind a tree a good twenty metres away. "Are you alright?" she asked me, the concern in her eyes echoing in her voice. "Eirin shouldn't be so...so mean!"

"I'm fine, don't worry," I told her, smiling to emphasise. It was actually debatable if I would ever be fine again. And even they couldn't answer all of my million billion questions.

"Good. We should get back before they start to worry." This time she let me walk of my own accord. Eirin and Beni had already gone ahead. They were anxious about something...but they had stopped now. It was hard to see why though, since they were blocking the view and we were pretty far away anyway. But then they ran in the other direction, sprinting to escape _something._ However, I could hear their voices shouting in unison.

"Run!".

The black shape advanced quickly, too fast to see the features properly. But it still struck a chord of recognition whithin me. _The monster from my dream_. _And now it's escaped into reality. _

Though they were running fast, the monster was faster. Rinkei had also run away. True realisation suddenly dawned. _They would be killed._ _And it will be all my fault. _

I couldn't let that happen, no matter what.

* * *

I was blinded by a sudden flash of light emitted from both of my hands. When the light had faded, I clutched two weapons, one in each hand. One white, one black, each intricately decorated, but not like any normal weapons. _The keyblades._

Something to fight the advancing heartless.

The flash had distracted it, it seemed, since it turned to face me, as if suddenly aware of my presence. That one look...it brought all of the rage that had been building all day from being so _clueless, _so _stupid_ and _blind_ to things that were going on before my eyes.

With all my rage I struck it, and it vanished, replaced by some munny and other green balls that I had never seen before.

A little voice told me that everything had just got a whole lot more complicated.

**_Key: End_**

Okay, okay...it wasn't as long as I could have hoped. But I swear the next chapter will be longer! And at least this is a pretty quick update (for me, at least recently. Jee, _something_ tells me that my school is full of slave-drivers.

Anyway, due to the rapid update, people haven't had a chace to review yet (or haven't been bothered, it's kind of hard to tell). But I did still get a request for me to say what the names mean, so...

Rinkei--Lily. Called her that because...becauseof her dress. And because I can. And because I happen to think that kind of suits her.

Eirin--Forest (or something like that). And why did I use that...? Well, once again because I can (although I also based the name on his clothes -nodnod-)

Beni--Deep red. Once again, named after the clothes

Man, I'm lazy! I could have done something like...like the Sora/Kairi/Riku thing. As we all (should) know Sora means sky, Riku means land or shore and Kairi means seperation. Random crap for you all!

Review answer time!

**icewolf9:** Aw...that's sweet :3 And request granted! And here is the update (albeit a touch earlier than normal...kind of scary...)

Well, that's all for now everyone :) Remember that you have a sudden strange urge to review! REMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMBER! Until next time!


	5. Trust

Who knows when this will be posted? I certainly don't...and the bloody slave-drivers have been at it again! So I apologise to everyone waiting patiently T-T

Maths is such a confuzzling topic too...takes meh twice as long to do that bloody homework than any other...SCHOOL IS EVIL! IT STOPPED MEH FROM THINKING UP A BETTER AND MORE SUITING NAME FOR THIS CHAPTER! Ookay, I'm going to stop now before I start ranting _even more_...

**Disclaimer: **Do I own Kingdom Hearts? Do I look like a really popular games company? No, I don't. SO DON'T RUB MY BROKEN DREAMS IN MY FACE! TIS NOT NICE!

**_Trust_**

_**"Do not stand in a place of danger trusting in miracles--"** unkown._

I continued to stare dumbstruck at the keys, like they were alien objects. And for all I knew, they probably were forged by little green men from a distant planet. I was so busy looking at them, that I didn't hear the footsteps behind me. Nor did I hear them calling my name. Until...

"AORI!" That made me jump about six feet in the air. Rinkei really was the champion at snapping me out of whatever stupour I was currently in. "What did you _do?_ The heartless...they vanished. How did you _do_ that?" Her gaze drifted to the two keys clutched in my hands. "What are those? You didn't have them before, right? Am I talking to myself again?"

The truth was, she wasn't talking to herself. I just didn't have the answers.

"Heartless?" I asked her eventually, when she had stopped her ranting.

"_Them._ The black things that attacked us." Ah. So that was what they were so afraid of?

Before I could ask any more questions that had threatened to consume me in a flood of ignorance, Eirin and Benistepped in front of Rinkei.

Beni was the first one to talk. "That was _incredible_. Everyone here lives in fear of _them_, and yet you can _destroy_ _them_." And then the deadly question. "How did you do that?"

Silence lasted for a few minutes, and when he realised that he wouldn't be getting an answer any time soon, due to his shock being _smaller_ not bigger than, mine he gave up. After all, he would _never_ understand what I had been through. _But,_ I realised, _he has probably been through worse before._

"Let's go back," Eirin said eventually, breaking the awkward silence.

Slowly we trudged back to Twilight Tower.

* * *

We reached the entrance, and Rinkei and Beni ran on ahead, but before I could join them Eirin grabbed my shoulder in a grip of iron and turned me around to face him. An awkward silence reigned for a few minutes. Then, something totally unexpected that surprised me was said. 

"I'm sorry."

"What?" I couldn't comprehend what he had said. Sorry? The one that had been as cold as ice to me, saying sorry?

"I'm _sorry,_" he repeated with emphasis. "I'm sorry for not trusting you, I'm sorry for not believing that you could be on our side, I'm sorry that I was too blind to see what was right in front of me. Alright?" He turned around to go, but before entering the tower he turned back one last time. "Thank you for giving us back our hope."

He disguised himself by being tough, but inside he really was a good person.

* * *

Panting and using the keyblades to help my ascent, I entered the room. Everyone was already seated in a circle, looking at me. There was an unoccupied crate, so I took my seat, aware that all eyes were on me. 

"We've decided," said Beni ,"what has to be done."

Rinkei continued carefully. "We think that it's best for everyone, not just us, if you..." She trailed off.

"Kill the heartless here," Eirin finished.

"What?"

"Kill the black creatures that hunt us all. Everyone here is living in fear, fear that every day they will become one of _them!_ There is no future for this town if something isn't done. If someone," Eirin pointed at me. "That has the power can help doesn't."

Another awkward silence.

Rinkei looked at me imploringly. "Please...we don't want to put you in danger, but if we don't be selfish...we'll all die."

When she put it like that, there wasn't really much of a choice, was there?

* * *

The sun had only been setting when we entered the tower, but when I exited again, it was twilight. I couldn't help shivering. It was just so _cold _now. And when it was dark...I didn't want to think about it so I moved on at a quickening pace. The light would be the only thing keeping _them_ away. And what would happen when _that_ disappeared? I didn't really want to go any further on that train of thought. 

_And...what if I fail? What then? They all have faith...**believe** in me, and yet...their hope could vanish as quickly as the sun.

* * *

_

The sun was almost gone now. I could swear that I could hear someone walking behind me, keeping pace with me. Yet whenever I turned around, no one was there. Paranoia then. Great. That was _all_ I needed now, since in who knows how short a time it takes for the sun to set, there would be hundreds--_thousands _of heartless chasing after me. Not a pleasant thought. Maybe the paranoia had affected my thinking, setting me on edge perhaps? It was hard to tell.

* * *

Twilight seemed to last forever here. It could just be me being nervous, but I was sure it had lasted several hours. And somewhere in the distance I could have sworn the clock struck ten and then eleven. But I couldn't see it now. The buildings surrounding me blocked out the view of pretty much everything else, save themselves. 

The tension weighed so heavily in the air, I could have taken a knife to it and cut myself a small slice. Never a good sign.

Something inside me began to panic.

**_Trust: End._**

I am sorry for the cliffie...but I assume the people who read this do want to read it sometime in the near future, instead of during one of my holidays (very far off, I assure you). And the homework pressure seems to have let up (for now at least). So I hope this continues...because then I can update soon! Yayness XD!

So without further ado...the review replies!

**icewolf9:** Glad someone liked the name choice. I have a small feeling that they're Final Fantasy characters in reality, but what the hell! I don't know who they are, so these names are all I have. And as always, I apologise for the wait :)

**WEIRTIU: **So it is :)

**Stuck in the Shadows:** I feel for you. I really really really do. We don't have to take Pe admittedly, but still! Too much homework, up until the last couple of days...I wish you luck with your future tests and homework etc...And asylum? I GO TO THOSE ALL THE TIME! Well, sometimes...and I apologise to you for the wait as well :)

Okay...it you have anything to ask then review and I promise I'll answer as best I can. But I'm not a telepath, so I can't read th question straight from your mind (but admittedly that would be a rather nice skill to aquire).

Until next time!


	6. Midnight

I think I've calmed down a little since last time's...-ahem- rant. But sadly a fever has been going around my school (although it could just have something to do with the fact that our classroom is definately the crappiest classroom **_IN THE ENTIRE SCHOOL_**, and everyone I know agrees on this one, even the people **_not in our class_**, but it seems there are 'no other available classrooms'. Such crappy crappy crappy crap. Oh shit! I'm ranting again! I should really stop that...). It does mean that I might get to stay home one day of the week, but then guess what _fun_ I have to do? CATCHING UP WITH THE HOMEWORK! OH FUNFUNFUNFUNFUNFUNFUNFUNHAPPYJOY! WHAT WOULD I RATHER BE DOING WHEN SICK?

I really am going to stop now...

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Kingdom Hearts...wow, that's a nice notion. But as far from the truth as one can get T-T But I guess the fans out there who don't own it feel as I do...that's a small comfort I suppose...

_**Midnight**_

_**"Fly not yet, 'tis just the hour/When pleasure, like the midnight flower/That scorns the eye of vulgar light/Begins to bloom for sons of night--**"Fly Not Yet, Thomas Moore._

It had been barely audible before, but now the deep sonorous sound rang through the streets of Twilight Town. I could sense that this was foreboding. The coming of midnight...

The clock bell finished its twelve rings.

And the twilight began to fade.

* * *

Something was watching me. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing straight up and my nose itched. And noses always itch at the worst moments. I could swear that there were lights shining, like streetlights, but when I turned around to look properly there was nothing. Only the advancing shadow. Why, why, why, why, why, why, _why_ me? Was it that crap that romantics called destiny? Unlikely. What proof was there that it existed anyway? And why was I thinking these things? _Now of all times..._Is this what the boy in the mirror, me and yet not, like? Getting on the wrong train of thought and going right to the end when _really_ he should be concentrating on the present task at hand? And he was doing it again... 

All at once, as if I had been walking somewhere, but managed to get somewhere else, I was _here. _Why here, of all places? It wasn't like I could possibly immitate the things I had seen in a dream.

Why the square?

And, as in the dream, they came. The shadows came, flocking to this one spot and becoming solid, _more_ than what they had been. Living. If you could call them that, of course. Instinctivly I held the keyblades tighter.

As in the dream, they attacked as one.

* * *

A clumsy parry here, another one there. I was trapped in the middle. The _worst_ place to be if you were getting attacked by hoardes of shadows or whatever they really were. 

_Thisisityou'regoingtodie,_ thought a very panicked mind that might have just been mine.

How was I meant to defend myself against an entire army, especially when I had never even held a weapon, save the wooden sword that I remember?

* * *

I was surprised I had lasted this long. I was bleeding from dozens of cuts, some shallow, a few deeper. And they weren't even suffering. I couldn't hit them. _Where's the help when you need it?_

Something must have struck them, for a few fell, leaving only the glowing green balls.

_I_ hadn't attacked them...I hadn't even _seen_ anyone attack them. They just disappeared.

More this time. And...a black blur flashed by. But it was hard to tell if it hadn't just been a product of the lack of my blood flowing through my system.

Something grabbed me by the arm and I whipped around, trying to whack the thing that had grabbed me. But then I saw who...

_It was never a dream, was it?_

The person who had opened the clouds and smiled at nothing, looking at him through the blindfold with unseeing eyes...

"We have to go! _Now!"_

And again I was too shocked to argue. After all, I seemed to be a pawn in the greater game that people were playing.

Pawns are always sacrificed for the greater cause.

**_Midnight: End_**

I'm sorry for this chappie being so late T-T! -glares at evil slave-drivers that have set loads of revision homework...IT'S TOO EARLY IN THE YEAR FOR A TEST!-

I swear that the next chapter will come out some time next week at the latest...Because now that I'm sick I'll -hopefully- get to miss some school. And what better way to use my new-found spare time than writing fanfiction?

Review answering time!

**Stuck in the Shadows: **Thankies :3 I would love to talk to meh teachers in latin...BUT WE LEARN LATIN AT OUR SCHOOL! Life is so sad...-sniffle-

**whatever:** Thankies!

I think that's it so...

Until next time XD!


	7. Twilight

Last chapter was rather short (I only realise this _now_, after looking back...not the most perceptive person am I?)...I swear this chapter shall be longer! (and how many times have I said this?) Anyway...not much to say is there?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts. But I _do_ own...some downloaded files related to KH2? Oh wait...I don't own those either...-sniff-

On with the fic!

**_Twilight_**

_**"How lovely are the portals of the night/When stars come out to watch the daylight die--"**Twilight, Thomas Cole._

He slammed the door behind him. I could hear several banging sounds where the heartless were trying to get in, but nothing more.

"We should be safe in here for now," he said. "Lucky I found you in time. Who knows _what_ would have happened if the heartless had killed you. It certainly would have been a problem."

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" _Please not someone else who will use me._

"I'm Riku. And I want...to help you understand. Maybe confirm a few things as well." Riku...? Now where had I heard that before?

"Riku? You're from Destiny Islands!" He looked older, and the blindfold masked part of his face, but it was still him.

"It's true then. You are Sora's nobody." I looked at him blankly. "Sit down. I might as well explain everything." He gestured at two chairs that I could have sworn weren't there before. I sat down, suddenly all too aware of the scratches the heartless gave me. But they wouldn't stop me from finding answers.

"This world--these worlds--once were one. One large world, made of light. Something like that could never last. People began to get greedy and want the light all for themselves. And so, darkness was born." Riku sounded like he was reciting this all from a textbook that he had learnt off by heart.

"The darkness swallowed many hearts and much light, and had spread far. The world disappeared into darkness. However, in the hearts of children there still remained a spark of light, though a mere shadow of it's former glory. The children rebuilt the world, but it was in many small fragments, spread through the sky. Stars were born, and each star is a world, though not the one world it used to be a part of.

"However, the darkness was still strong. It conquered many worlds and the stars began to disappear from the sky. No one knows when the heartless were born, but we _do _know they are creatures born of darkness. They fed upon the hearts of people, and the hearts of the worlds, and for every person they took a heart away from, their number increased. But this wasn't all they created when they consumed a heart.

"The heart may have been gone, and that emptiness created another heartless, but the body and soul became something else.

"They became the nobodies."

A sickening feeling had formed at the bottom of my stomach. Is that what I am?

"The nobodies are the third power. The heartless are of darkness. Those with an uncorrupted heart are of light. And the nobodies are those who walk the road inbetween. The creatures of twilight.

"But you...you are different. No heartless has ever regained its heart, but Sora did.You were already _there,_ already _alive._ So, you became something more. The first creature of twilight with a heart. But not just any twilight creature. Something born of _Sora._ Which makes you so important. More than you could ever know."

I felt like I was falling through an endless blackness. Finding out that essentially you aren't human will do that to a person.

Finally I voiced the question that had been bothering me for so long.

"Who is Sora?"

"Sora is..." Riku paused, and I could almost hear the gears in his head grinding together to find a good way to phrase this to me. "He's the person that shares the memories that you have. And he's the keyblade master of light."

"Keyblade?"

"Three keyblades were formed when the worlds were on the point of destruction. First was light, to bring the world back from darkness and to lock the hearts of the worlds and protect. Then came darkness, which unlocked the inner darkness in a being's heart. No one knows when the third power came into the picture, or even _what_ it does.

"In other words, tt's a weapon that is given to one pure of heart. At least, that's how it works for the keyblade of light. Yours is different because you are...what you are.

"But...no one can force you to do anything, though they try. So you must decide for yourself what you want to do."

I had wanted a choice, and at last I had one. But what to do with that choice?

"I want...to protect Sora. He is the one that's meant to be saving the worlds, right? So that's most important. And then..."

"And then?"

"I want...to be free. Like the wind."

**_Twilight: End._**

I realised something whilst writing this. This will be the last chapter! Well...it's the perfect place to stop, isn't it? I certainly think so, even though everyone else is probably screaming ,"NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" at the top of their lungs (at least, I hope so XD!) But you must remember that originally this was meant to be a one-shot, but then authoress-san got way too lazy...so it became what it is today! I could continue this...but I want everyone else's opinions too! INCLUDING THE PEOPLE THAT DON'T REVIEW BUT STILL READ THIS FIC! YOU MUST ALL REVIEW! But all opinions are valid...though I may just end up writing a sequel fic instead after writing another fic or two...THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS! BUT FIRST YOU MUST REVIEW AND STATE OPINIONS OR THIS SHALL BE FINISHED!

Anyway...reveiw answering time!

**Ginger Finder:** Glad you like it XD! And I know! His name would just be so...wonderful :F But I suppose that since the release date for Japan ish the 22nd of December we still have a couple of months to go before we find out...BUT THE POINT IS THAT WE FIND OUT SOON! And I am still slightly ill, but sooner or later I'll get better XD!

**icewolf9:** It's okay if you don't have time to review :) The point is that you do eventually, right? (that was a joke. It's important that you read and enjoy!) And that's sweet :D But who knows whether or not there will be an update? We'll just have to see...

I feel that I should say what inspired meh onto creating this fanfic...So here we go...:

_Once I hadn't seen Deep Dive, and heard little of the theories about the next game. But then...I learnt everything all at once. And my imagination zoomed off in hundreds of directions. This was just one of them._


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